hello, everyone. i'm randi kaye. we have some breaking news that we want to continue to follow here out of waxahachie, texas. there is a chemical manufacturing plant on fire. we want you to look at these pictures coming to us from ktvt. we haven't seen anything like this level of a blaze, a fire, of smoke in quite some time. there is certainly concern for the surrounding areas, including an elementary school in that area. i want to bring in now nicole donald golden who is with us. nicole, can you give me an idea here -- i'm sorry, it's donald golden. can you please give me an idea of what is happening there on the ground? >> well, the only thing we know for sure right now is the building where the fire began looks to be a complete loss.

there are several departments responding to the fire. still attempting to put it out. all of our employees and anybody who was visiting the plant at the time the fire began has been evacuated and accounted for. so that was obviously our first concern. everybody is out and safe. >> i want to ask about this wedgeworth elementary school which is in that area. so if everyone is safe, does that mean that the school has been closed or where are the students at this point? >> that i don't know. they're not in visual range. we are next to a college that has been evacuated. as far as the elementary school, i don't know the status but i do know they are upwind from the fire so any of the fumes and smoke are all being directed the opposite direction of the school. >> can you help us understand what caused this and how it got so big so fast? >> no, i'm sorry. we don't know that at this time. >> can you give me an idea of what type of gases are in the air and how dangerous this might

be? >> i'm sorry, could you ask that again? >> can you give me an idea of what type of gases might be in the air and how dangerous this might be? >> donald? all right. it sounds like we've lost donald golden. he's with the environmental health and safety. he's the manager there. we will try an get him back on the line. in the meantime, you'll continue to look at these pictures now from our affiliate wfaa coming in to us from waxahachie, texas. we are focusing here on a chemical manufacturing plant that's been on fire, if you're just joining us. the concern has been certainly for this elementary school in the area. this is some new video coming to us. you can look there at that thick black smoke. chad meyers was telling us just moments ago that radar is actually picking up this smoke. it is so thick, so heavy, that radar actually thinks it is rain and puts it there on the radar

map for our meteorologists to pick up. the question is, are there dangerous gases, we'll continue to check on that. but it is the magna blend chemical manufacturing plant and this is a major industrial fire there in texas. please be sure to stay with us, we'll continue to watch this and hope you will as well along with us. in the meantime, it has been 8 1/2 hours since amanda knox spoke not only to an italian court but to the world saying, "i am innocent." and in the next 60 minutes we could find out if a jury agrees. it is 1:00 p.m. in the east, 10:00 a.m. in the west. i'm randi kaye, here's what's happening at this hour. she has spent nearly four years behind bars in italy. now the world is watching a courthouse in perugia to see if american student amanda knox gets to go free. earlier today knox made an emotional plea saying she didn't kill her roommate back in 2007. >> translator: i haven't murdered. i haven't raped. i haven't stolen.

i wasn't there. i wasn't present at the crime. >> now her fate lies in the hands of two judges and six jurors. cnn's matthew chance joins me now live from perugia with much more on this. matthew, do you think her emotional speech there in court made a difference at all? >> reporter: i think it might have, randi, because she spoke in fluent italian, first of all, which may have cut through a bit better to the jury there and the judges that were listening very intently. she spent four years in prison so she's managed to perfect that. she was also very emotional. i was in the courtroom when she came in. she looks extremely pale. she looked extremely stressed. she didn't look up at any point when she was walking in. not even to her family to acknowledge their presence as they often are in the corner of the courtroom listening to these hearings. when she stood up, she was clearly very emotional as she addressed the court as well on a number of occasions, it sounded like she was choking on her own

tears. the judge at one point said that she could sit down if she wanted to but she didn't. she carried on standing. she composed herself and delivered what must have been the most important -- the biggest speech of her life to that jury and to those judges begging for her freedom, essentially saying that meredith kercher was a friend that that she's innocent of killing her. >> matthew, we know that she's been sentenced to 26 years. her former boyfriend has been sentenced to 25 years. is this an all-or-nothing deal? because they brought this appeal together, so does this mean that she can't be freed and -- unless he's freed? is that how this is going to work? >> yes, i think so. they've got this joint appeal which means that the jury and the judges will consider both of them in conjunction, or to consider them separately. but there are a number of options on the table for the jury and judges. when they make their decision, they could of course overturn the convictions against them for the murder of meredith kercher,

they could uphold those sentences, increase the sentences or decrease the sentences. as this jury deliberates on what its decision could be, there is a gamut of decisions. >> could there be a middle ground here? if the jury which has two judges on it decides to go with what -- we know that the prosecutors have said they want life in prison for her, not only the 26 years now. the defense of course wants her free. is there a chance they'll come to some type of an agreement? >> reporter: well, i'm not sure there is this kind of bargaining going on behind doors. it's purely in the hands of the jury now and the hands of the judges. it is unlikely the defense and prosecution are talking at this point about the possible sentencing. we're already well beyond that stage. but it is certainly possible. perhaps even likely that some kind of face-saving decision will be made that might see amanda knox and ref raffaele sollecito released after already

served a significant amount of time behind bars. that's certainly a possibility. another possibility is that they could be let out of jail on the basis there is not enough evidence against them which is one formula in the italian judicial system that could be applied in this case. >> matthew chance, i know we can get this verdict at any moment now really so we appreciate your time and certainly keep us posted on when that comes down. thank you. now we want to return you to that chemical manufacturing plant that's on fire in waxahachie, texas. we have with us on the phone neil white, the editor at the waxahachie daily. as we continue to look at these pictures, can you give us an idea, neil, of what you know about this area and what might be at risk there, what might be in danger? >> well, i have my entire staff out on the scene right now. it is a major fire that called in support from just about every neighboring city who has fire trucks and personnel on the

scene. they just moved back. the fire is growing in intensity. i had lost communication with my staff because they had to relocate and i haven't been able to contact them yet. i do know that they've evacuated a nearby college, as well as wedgeworth elementary school also on the same road. then there is alterra, a residential nursing facility. that order has already been given to evacuate the nursing facility as well. those are all within about a half a mile from the factory. >> do you have any idea what might have caused this yet? are you getting any information from your people there on the ground or when did you first get word of it? >> a little over an hour ago. they haven't issued any press announcement yet. what we're waiting for, the city, director of public information to hold a press conference which i understand is going to be happening here

shortly. waiting on more information as to the cause. at this time we haven't received any reports of injury but again they haven't issued any formal statement so we're kind of in the dark. >> i mean the pictures of this fire coming to us now on screen from ktvt, the flames and thick smoke which seems to be spreading throughout the area, where are you in relation to where this is happening? can you see anything from where you are? >> we can see -- i'm at the paper office. yes, we can see the smoke from here. we're about five miles away. >> have you stepped outside? what does it feel like out there? >> you can just see the smoke. it's moving up high in the atmosphere so it's not down low to the ground. but all of my staff is near the -- near in close proximity to the scene and they said it is really intense up there.

>> all right, neil white with the "waxahachie daily," we appreciate your time and new information you gave us about some evacuations there in waxahachie, texas. neil, thank you very much. coming up -- she has been called a she-devil and a witch. now amanda knox hopes to be called innocent. >> translator: i am not what they say i am, perverse, violent. i respect life and people and i haven't done the things that they are suggesting i have done. i haven't murdered, i haven't raped, i haven't stolen. i wasn't there. i wasn't present at the crime. >> what the court's decision means for knox and the italian justice system when we come back. but before we head to break, we are starting a little something new. our "daily shout out" to people not just making a difference but doing it with some style. today's rock stars, 18-year-old mariah slick and the entire student body at azel high school. mariah, who has down syndrome,

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in the chapel. she being allowed to stay there with farther soro. she is calm, very, very calm. she says unfortunately i have some terrible hours ahead of my because if i to wait but deliberations in these cases are tough but i am still calm. >> does she have hope? >> translator: she is absolutely convinced she will fly home to the u.s. tonight. >> any moment now knox could be hand pd her freedom or possibly a stiffer sentence or life in prison. the author of "the fatal gift of beauty," do you think amanda will go free? >> i would be pretty surprised if she didn't go free. because there isn't very much evidence that she had anything to do with this crime. but the story is not a 30-second sound bite. that's the problem. it is very complicated and one of the complications is that the italian judiciary is -- it works

in its own way and in its own time and they've done things that have stunned me before in terms of convicting her the first time around on what seemed to be pretty flimsy evidence. so i am not going to make a prediction for you. i'm sorry. >> would you say that this is -- that this was a bit of a witch hunt by prosecutors? is that what you found in researching for your book? >> i did -- you know, there are a number of things that were going on. it was police i think police mistakes were made. and the media came in, swooped in and made it very difficult for them to back off. these types of mistakes happen in other countries, including the united states. but this was perugia is an idiosyncratic kind of town. it is a small town, a mountain town. it's got calls around it and i think that it happened on the night after halloween. the prosecutor there has some

theories about satanic cults operating in his community. and maybe they do. but in this case he applied that knowledge or those suspicions to a crime scene that was mystifying to him and the world riveted on this young woman's face, this very photogenic female. and basically didn't even pay attention to the third guy who's been convicted already and sentenced for the murder and who has never even denied that he was in the room. >> nina, appreciate your time. we will continue to watch this case along with you. thank you. >> you're welcome. well, as we head to break, a look at three of the most popular stories on cnn. all right. we're having a little trouble there with our scripting so why don't we just take a break. all right, we'll take a look at three of the most popular stories on cnn.com. news pulse. first place is the story about rick perry and the many

headlines that he grabbed other the weekend. second is the announcement that seth rogen tied the knot with long-time girlfriend lauren miller. and third is a breakdown of the amanda knox saga as anticipation builds for her appeal verdict. [ male announcer ] robitussin, advil, clorox disinfecting wipes and...a digital recorder. i'm finally feeling better. good honey, you turn into such a little whiner when you're sick. no i don't. [ bawk! ] honey, i'm sick. i can't reach the remote. that sounds nothing like me. [ beep ] honey, i'm sick. i can't reach the remote.

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i want to return you now to the breaking news. look at this video coming in from wfaa, our affiliate there. these are live pictures of this chemical manufacturing plant that's on fire in waxahachie, texas. we spoke with neil white, the editor at "the waxahachie daily" there and he said a college has been evacuated nearby. you can see why as you look at this plume of smoke coming to us

as well from ktvt. the fire is growing, he said. they've already evacuated navarro college and wedgeworth elementary and also a nursing facility has been given evacuation orders. this is a major industrial fire that seems to be growing and we will continue to watch it for you around bring you the very latest there from texas. moving on now, michael jackson was already clinically dead when he arrived at ucla medical center. that's what an er doctor who tried to revive the pop star testified in court on friday. and today we are hearing more from dr. richelle cooper in the conrad murray trial. she says dr. murray never told her about the propofol in jackson's system. something both paramedics who were first on scene at jackson's home testified to as well. they say jackson was cold when they arrived. had he no heartbeat, his eyes open. still, they say, dr. murray said nothing. joining me now for "crime and consequences," criminal defense

attorney holly hughes. holly, nice to have you on the show. the defense has quite an uphill battle here it seems. how do they begin to even counter the damning testimony that we've seen certainly last week and already a bit today against their client? >> this is their biggest challenge, randi, because what they're going to have to argue is that because dr. murray administered such a small amount, they're saying he only administered enough to knock him out for ten minutes, that he didn't think there was any possibility propofol played a role in the death of this pop star. that's the only place they can go with that. they're going to say, look, it was such a non-issue that he didn't even report it to them. they can't do anything else with that. they are stuck with the facts as they exist already. >> something else that came up is that when paramedics were in touch with their base at ucla, they wanted to declare michael jackson dead while he was still in the home in his bedroom. but dr. murray wanted him transported. what does that say? what should we take away from

that? >> well, if you're the prosecution what you're going to argue is, dr. murray did not want michael jackson declared dead on the scene because then it would have been sealed off, randi. they'd have immediately ushered everybody out of the room, had the medical examiner actually come to the scene, do the declaration of death there and nobody would have been able to take things out of that scene, to clean it up, to staerilize i, to hide evidence. what this prosecution wants this jury to believe is, hey, the very reason dr. murray fought so hard with these paramedics despite all of the signs, he was cool to the touch. there were no breath sounds. his heart wasn't beating. his eyes were open. everybody looking at him knew he was deceased. even his security guard and his head of logistics. even his personal assistant said he looked dead to us. so you don't need a medical degree to know what's happening here. but if dr. murray can convince them to take that body off the scene, you're also not going to have any death photos of him in his own bed. because had the body been left

there, they'd have come in, treated it as a crime scene, it is an unnatural death after relatively young man. you'd have had photographs of michael in his own home and he wouldn't have been able -- dr. murray, meaning -- would not have been able to remove anything from that scene because it would have been sealed off immediately. >> we just about 30 seconds left, i want to ask you about the time line, because two of dr. murray's girlfriends are expected to testify this week, one who was on the phone with him when he finally realized michael jackson had stopped breathing. how critical is that time line? >> extreatme >> extremely critical. the girlfriend says at 11:57 there's no more sound for dr. murray. she's yelling into the phone and could not get him back on the phone. we know 911 wasn't called until 12:20. that's about a 23-minute gap. if you find your patient in distress -- and we could assume that's what happened at 11:57 when he suddenly just abandons

that phone call, that's when he knows there's a problem. why not dial 911 right then and there unless it is obvious to you there is no way anybody's going to be able to help the patient. >> right. all right, holly hughes, criminal defense attorney, thank you. nice to see you. coming up, one of the toughest immigration laws in the country is leaving a mark. >> people right now are not going to school. kids are not going to school. why? because they're scared. >> why alabama's new law has students skipping class. but first, it was eight years ago today that the tiger attacked roif siegfried and roy. roy was critically injured but never once did he blame the cat. the incident ended the couple's 1-year run at the mirage. they retired from show business.

(screams) when an investment lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing. welcome back. we're now seeing the impact of alabama's tough new immigration law inside its classrooms. public schools in the state are now required to check the immigration status of kids when they enroll. it is just a part of the state's new immigration law upheld by a federal judge last week and an unintended consequence of that law, it is today's "under covered story." we are talking about confusion and fear among immigrant families. >> the kids are not going to school. why? because they're scared and that

is not right. >> many hispanic students are not showing up. hundreds of absences are being reported in several school districts. large numbers of families are pulling their kids. some say they will not be back. but it is important to note public schools are required under federal law to educate students illegal or not. the immigration status of students in alabama will only go to the state's education department. state lawmakers say the goal is to simply track how much it costs to educate illegal immigrants. one of the school districts seeing a lot of no-shows in classes is huntsville, alabama. keith ward is the district's spokesman and he joins us now. thank you for coming on to discuss this. what is the situation in your district today? are there more hispanic students absent? are there any withdrawing even from school? >> well, we have had a few that have withdrawn that we know of. we had approximately 207 hispanic student absences out of a total hispanic enrollment of

approximately 1,435 on thursday. that number had decreased to 127 on friday and we'll vex act totals for today by the end of the school day. >> yeah. as we look at the numbers, when you think about these parents making this very difficult decision to not send their child to school, probably out of fear, has there been any contact with the parents who have chosen to do this? >> well, our superintendent actually had a message delivered in spanish that outlined the provisions of the law, how it related to schools. and that was aired on our local cable access channel and posted on youtube to try to calm some of the fears and explain what the law referred to in regards to the school district. >> so i know that you and some other administrators feel that the law -- that there is a real misunderstanding about what this is about and how this is going to work. was there not something before this went into place that maybe

would explain to parents so they didn't have to be so fearful and keep their students home? >> well, i think that fear has probably existed in the hispanic community since talk of this law. and there are several aspects that have other departments involved such as law enforcement or license renewal, they don't have anything to do with the school district. so we knew that there would be something that would come down soon. we didn't know whether or not the judge would uphold some or all aspects of the law so what we've tried to do is reach out to -- >> but keith, were there pamphlets or any type of education material sent out to help these parents understand this in advance? >> they've had counselors and everything that have tried to disseminate that information and reaching out into members of the hispanic community and of course, that was one of the purposes of the posting of the videos, to be able to give them

information, at least from the school's perspective so that they don't have a fear of bringing their kids to school or enrolling them in school. >> keith ward from the huntsville city schools, keith, thank you. i hope that we helped to set the record straight if any of those families might be watching. thank you very much. well, immigration is becoming a touchy subject for rick perry. opening him up to more criticism from his republican rivals. but he's not toning it down. it is all "fair game" next. but first, for political junkies out there -- a question. we know texas allows in-state division for the children of undocumented immigrants but it is not alone. how many other states allow it? stick around for the answer. i'd race down that hill without a helmet.

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before the break we asked you how many states like texas allow in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants? well, here is the math.

13 states overall allow it. from california to new york, rhode island became the latest to approve it just last week. time now to go beyond partisan talking points to the heart of the political debate where all sides are, as we like to say, "fair game." immigration is a hot-button issue right now for the republican presidential candidates. rick perry has been forced time and time again to defend his decision to allow in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants. he says texas voters wanted it so he signed it. here's what else he had to say about the immigration issue while campaigning in new hampshire this weekend. >> we have put legislation in place that is clearly said that texas is going to do everything in its power to secure the border with mexico. that brings us to the real issue here, which is we have for decades had a federal government that is absolutely failed in its

constitutional duty to defend our border. i'm a governor. i don't have the pleasure of standing on the stage and criticizing. i have to deal with these issues. >> a very pointed answer. let me bring in my guests now, democratic strategist maria cardona is in washington, and cnn contributor will cain is in new york today with us. maria, start with you. will rick perry, do you think, be able to defend his position on this in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants, do you think? >> you know, it is ironic, randi. if he were actually running in the general election right now i think this position would favor him because this is a position that actually the majority of the american people, mainstream voters, independent voters, clearly democrats, agree with. but what is interesting is that he's not in a general election, he is right now during the gop primary process running in a process where it is the right

wing conservative extremists, the tea partiers, for whom this position is complete ly opposit to what they believe in. i think it is going to be very difficult for him to navigate this. i will give him kudos for sticking to his guns but i think that on the flip side he's doubling down on the enforcement piece of this which i think is not going to do him any good in the long run. >> will, do you think the governor's going to have to change his message here as a result of all this? >> no, randi. no. i mean maria's right about one thing -- he is running in a republican primary right now where everyone is trying to give the appearance -- that's the operative word -- of being very, very tough on illegal immigration. i think rick perry is wrong on this idea of giving in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants. you're basically giving a tax-pare benefit to people who have not paid into the tax system. but that being said, the fact that i disagree with rick perry, i'm not going to define him by this issue. here's the difference between

perry and santorum and romney who are grandstanding against perry. exactly what he said in his clip -- he's a governor of a state on the border. he's had to try to figure out ways to deal with this and they haven't. >> we have a couple of other controversies -- or controversial topics at least to get through here. this one over the weekend. perry said that he would be open to sending u.s. troops to mexico to deal with the drug cartels. maria, how is that going to sit with voters, do you think? >> that is such a hair-brained idea, randi. again, to me what it tells me is that he is doing whatever he needs to do and say to sort of fix the perception that he now has that he's weak on immigration because of the stances that he took on the in-state tuition for undocumented -- for children of undocumented immigrants. i think it is a hair-brain idea. he clearly doesn't understand foreign minister if he thinks that this is a good idea. and again he's kowtowing to his

base. he is hoping that gop voters in the primary process are going to be now listening to him and to see how tough he is on immigration, you know, so that it fixes the perception that he currently has that he is weak on it. i don't think that it is going to work and i think it is going to add to the perception that for mainstream voters that he's just not ready for prime time. >> this one, will, is going to you. i want to ask you about this hunting camp issue coming from of course "the washington post" article. it resurfaced over the weekend that perry and his father had actually leased a camp that had the "n" word in its name and was displayed just out front in big letters. it was pointed out front. here's what perry has said about this. he says a number of claims made in this story are incorrect, inconsistent and anonymous. the one consistent fact in the story that the word on a rock was painted over and obscured many years ago. now how will this play -- how is he going to get himself out of this one, do you think? >> i don't know, randi.

look, here's the deal. there are many legitimate concerns about rick perry. the sending troops to mexico thing doesn't show somebody you want to entrust with the power of the federal government. he has connections to crony crop tali -- capitalism and these are criticisms coming from conservatives. this "washington post" story is full of anonymous sources and full of speculation an rick perry is now saying that much of it is not true so it is a he said/she said. i don't want to perpetuate what sounds like a very, very hard story to verify. there are plenty of substantive criticisms to have about rick perry right now. that issue regard rg the hunting camp is one that i feel there is not enough substance behind it to be willing to chip in on it. >> i think what it does though, we do have to find out the facts about this but it adds to the cumulative effect that he's just not ready for prime time. if this was his first gaffe i would say yes, he would probably navigate himself out of it but it is not, it is on top of everything else. >> question is should, maria.

it should. should it contribute. >> you guys are going to have to call each other and finish this discussion. maria -- >> we'll do it on twitter. >> yeah, do it on twitter. all right. thank you. of course, if you want to weigh in on twitter about any of the stories we're covering, you can find me on twitter at@ran at@randikaye.cnn. how one company is making people pay up if they want to eat fat -- which is why you are here. hint. think vikings. it is about twice the size of massachusetts and is considered one of the happiest nations on earth. can you guess where we're taking you? we're heading that way in just a couple of minutes to talk about the world's first fat food tax. my name is robin.

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trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. my inspiration for quitting were my sons. they were my little cheering squad. [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. we want to show you some live pictures now, breaking news here at cnn. this is a major industrial fire there in waxahachie, texas. a chemical manufacturing plant on fire. there's been concern about

navarro college in the area and wedgewood elementary, also a nursing facility. they've all been evacuated there. you can see the smoke for miles. we are also watching another live pictureout si outside the where amanda knox is waiting to learn her fate. she spoke to the court this morning along with her former boyfriend, both charged with killing her roommate, meredith kercher. she made a statement to the court this morning pleading for her freedom. we will let you know as we continue to watch that live picture there in perugia, italy outside amanda knox's prison. craving butter or cheese? maybe a little milk or some meat? you're going to want to think twice before you take a bite especially if you are in denmark. the company now has what is believed to be the world's first fat food tax to fight obesity and heart disease. there is a surcharge on foods with more than 2.3% saturated

fat. that would include fatty foods like butter, milk, cheese, pizza, oils and meats. the new tax amounts to nearly $3 for every two pounds of saturated fat. if you're wondering only about 10% of danes are considered obese compared to one-third of adults right here in the u.s. they can roll over and play dead, they can beg, shake and perform all sorts of other tricks. but do dogs actually think before they act? the answer may actually surprise you. a look at canine intelligence next in the "assignment." but first, the salahis still milking it. mick kay makayla got up on stage at a journey concert. her boyfriend gave her a cheesy serenade for her 46th birthday. gossip site tmz writes tarik is shopping a new reality show. face it, guys, your 15 minutes are up.

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welcome back. every day on this show we'll go in-depth on the assignments. it is a chance to highlight and dig deeper on something unique. today it is animal intelligence. have you ever wondered what animals think, whether they have the capacity for abstract tho s thought, whether they can learn language, whether they can actually communicate, whether they have a sense of self? grab your. you pea at home if you have one and watch this. if you've ever wondered what's really going on behind those puppy doggize, this may be the guy to tell you.

professor brian hare, the director of duke university's cainny condition center is one of only a few people in the country who studies how dogs think. the professor and his team put pups through a series of games similar to those you might play with young children. >> we don't want to look at cute pet tricks. what we want to know is what does the dog understand about its world. >> reporter: for years, researchers didn't even study dogs. they thought they were too domesticated. brian says that's exactly why dogs do need to be studied. for 15 years, he's been analyzing how dogs think. what surprised him most, he says, is that dogs have figured out how to read human behavior better than any other species. even chimpanzees. >> the way they think about their world is that people are super important and they can solve almost any problem if they rely on people. >> how do dogs think compared to children? >> probably around 12 months. young children start using -- their adults' gestures and start

making gestures themselves. that's about at the point where it looks like dogs have sort of a similar level of flexibility. >> reporter: watch this. i just met tazy, professor hair's dogs, a few minutes before this test. when we both point to a cup which may hold a treat, will she trust me, a stranger, or her owner? oh, i'm crushed! >> that's my boy! >> reporter: how could he trust you over me? over and over, tazzie chooses her owner's jesss turs. >> he's grown up with me. we do stuff together fgt he's never met you before. look, if they're both telling me where to go, i trust the guy i'm with all the time. i spoke with brian hare just before today's show. they've gotten a grant from the military learning to train the dogs. the military can use their dogs in the field better. brian will help the military

work with dogs. by the way, if you want your dog into brian's study at duke university, go to my facebook page and learn of more about it. every day on this show we call out someone who just isn't cutting it these days. today, sorry, tiger, it's time. once hailed as the greatest athlete of all time, tiger woods has now fallen not only from grace but out of the top 50 in the world rankings for the first time in nearly 15 years. talk about a streak busted. tiger sat perched for 778 consecutive weeks inside the top 50, dating back to 1996. to add insult to injury, woods hasn't won a major tournament in nearly two years. he has been dropped or faced suspension from the likes of gatorade, at&t and jillette, all for eyely publicized infidelity. still don't feel too bad for the golf pro. "forbes" says his brand fell a

bit. still today tiger woods it's time for you to "face the music." ♪ you must not know about me ♪ i can have another you in a minute ♪

taking a look at compelling stories across the country, up close at street level.

it is an airborne do-over as engineers perform a monumental damage checkup at d.c. if at first you don't succeed, repel, repel again. an assessment team is repelling down the face of the washington monument again today checking for damage from last month's quake. they couldn't finish their first assess the late last week because a gust of wind blew one worker 30 feet away. the national park service says he's okay. an earlier check of the interior showed the monument was structurally sound. an elanguage elle cal pastor in el paso, texas, is on a mission to stop the city from paying the health benefits of unmarried partners couples gay or straight. he wants to oust the mayor and city members who supported the order in answer. he says the benefits rewards foreign caters and home me sexuals. the issue is dividing the city and is boiled over after a voter-approved referendum was

turned over in june. in seattle a vigil for amanda knox gathereded to hear her proclaim her innocence half a world away. they now wait and they hope. one of them, tom wright, joins us by phone from seattle. tom, tell us how you felt as your friend amanda defended herself today in that italian courtroom. >> hi. yes, hello, randi. we thought that amanda did a wonderful job speaking. it was courageous and it was eloquent in her defense. and i believe that the court was riveted as well. we're very hopeful for the outcome, cautiously optimistic and very hopeful. >> do you think that her speech, her he emotional speech -- she spoke in fluent italian -- do you think that would help sway the jury that is going to make a decision about her future? >> well, one would hope so, but this has been a very long process. the appeal has taken quite a while. this was sort of just the

tradition of letting the accused speak as the final speaker. we thought she it did a wonderful job. now the deliberations have been going on here for about eight hours. we're hoping for the best. >> have you had any communication with her since she's been in prison all these years? >> yes. she calls her home for ten minutes every saturday and many of us who are friends of her family and of her gather in the kitchen in her home and we're able to speak with her and pass the phone around for ten minutes every week. she's been frustrated for about four years now for a crime she didn't commit. she gets some solace from those phone calls, as do we. >> obviously her loved ones, family, friend hes are hopeful. do you get a sense sfrom her sh is hopeful? >> absolutely. she's full of hope. she's also trep daishs because the results two years ago of the original conviction were deeply

disappointing and somewhat puzzling for everyone. so we're hoping that this time around justice is done. >> tom wright, thank you so much. i know this is a tough time for friends and family of amanda knox. we appreciate your time today. >> thank you very much, randi. now let's check in with our friend mark breast be. -- preston. mark, you're watching all things political, keeping up with the primary calendar. >> yes, for sure. south carolina has decided to hold their presidential primary on january 21st. this is significant because that means we are going to see voters in iowa and in new hampshire start voting for the presidential nominee in early january. now, republican leaders randi had hoped that, in fact, they he would be able to put this off until february. they thought that would be better for the process, allow the candidates more time to talk to the voters. however, when florida decided late last week to hold their

primary on the 31st, it pushed everything back. so now south carolina will be on the 21st and then we're going to see iowa and new hampshire early in january. we're going to see candidates now campaigning right after christmas in iowa to try to get those really influential iowan votes. >> so what does this mean, mark, just quickly, for those who haven't declared yet, somebody like a chris christy? ? >> or sarah palin or rudy giuliani? >> yes. >> we have no idea what peace going on in any of their minds. chris christy is clearly looking at running. if he were to run or rudy giuliani or sarah palin, they would have to get an operation p up very quickly. the question is, would they be able to raise the money and have the appeal? all of that is really unanswered questions so chris christie we expect an announcement in the next 24, 48 hours. as for savor sarah palin, who knows? rudy giuliani continues to flirt with it. to put money on it, i don't

think any of them will run. but who know snz. >> we'll be watching the calendar and the clock. mark, thank you so much. that will do it for me now. let's hand it over to brooke baldwin for now. hello to all of you. i'm brooke baldwin. want to get you caught up rapid fire. let's begin with breaking news out of perugia, italy. a decision is expected in an hour and a half. amanda knox, the college student appealing her conviction for the brutal murder of her roommate in italy. and today we heard from amanda knox herself speaking in fluent italian, pleading for her freedom. she said she had nothing to do with the murder of meredith kercher. >> translator: i haven't done the things that they are suggesting i have done. i haven't murdered. i haven't raped. i haven't stolen. i wasn't there. i wasn't present at the crime. >> two judges and six jurors are

considering knox's appeal, obviously we'll bring you the decision as soon as we get that around an hour, hour and a half from now. now to this story. take a look at this billowing black smoke with me. this is a chemical plant near dallas, texas. a note was found with what police are calling a credible threat in michigan, it happened in a suburb of detroit this morning. a teacher found this note at salem high school with a threat from a student. three high schools in all were locked down at first, but they've now been dismissed for the day. we haven't heard yet what exactly the note said, what it entailed. we can tell you that all kids are safe at this point in time. and that emergency room doctor in the michael jackson

death trial says dr. conrad murray did not tell her he had given propofol to the pop star. dr. richelle cooper pronounced jackson dead at ronald reagan ucla medical center and cooper said murray told her that jackson's cardiac arrest came after he gave him two doses of lorazepam, a sedative. she said he never mentioned propofol. >> i was told he was given lorazepam through an i.v. and then was given a second dose. >> were you ever told at any point if time about any medications by conrad murray other than the lorazepam? >> no. >> dr. cooper also testified jackson was clinically dead when he arrived and he did not have a pulse. the supreme court back in session today, this year's term began with a tribute to senior associate justice justice scalia, beginning his 25th year on the nation's high court. scalia was nominated in 1986 and, quote, the place hadn't

been the same since. dick cheney lining up with the obama administration on several topics, enact, appearing over the weekend on cnn, the former price voois president says he agrees to take out an american-born muslim cleric with a drone strike. he called the killing justified. former vice president praised obama for ending the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. >> i think the decision that's been made with respect to allowing gays to serve openly in the military is a good one. it's the right thing to do. >> now, dick cheney wasn't totally full of compliments for the obama white house the he says the administration should reverse its credit civil of robust action taken toward terror suspects had when he was vice president. a former cia contractor who went to prison in pakistan was arrested in colorado over the weekend. witnesses say raymond davis got into eye fistfight with a man over a parking spot in denver. this picture was from earlier in the year right around the time

davis was released from prison in pakistan. remember he was charged with killing those two men when he worked there as a cia contractor. davis has said he acted in self-defense. much more to come this hour and next. check this out. amanda knox pleads for had her life in her own words flawlessly in the language of the italian jury. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. amanda knox begs for her life in the local language of her italian jurors. it's decision day for the american college student accused of killing her roommate in a night filled with drugs and a sex romp. protests on wall street swells. hundreds arrested and new groups popping up across the country. plus -- it's music monday. ♪

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four-year nightmare for the families of two women, meredith kerr chur brutally murdered and amanda knox convicted of killing mer cher in what prosecutored alleged was a drug-fueled sex game. knox has taken an emotional beating through this process, labeled foxy knoxy and she-devil by prosecutors. but today knox spoke for herself. she told the court in perugia in italian, i am not what they say i am. let's go straight to cnn international correspondent matthew chance. he's been following this for us out of italy. let's begin with the news we learned. you have learned there will be a decision in this case in an hour and a half from now. >> reporter: that's right. that came out from rumors first of all we spoke to lawyers of one of the defendants. in the last few minutes, it's been confirmed by the court that at 21:30 so half past 9:00 local

time, less than 90 minutes away, that court behind me will resume. the jury, the judges will come back, having made up their mind what will be the fate of amanda knox, that american exchange student and her former boyfriend. a number of options on the table. they could quash their murder convictions and set them free tonight or uphold their 26-year and 25-year respectively murder sentences for will killing of meredith kercher. >> matthew, if you can, just talk to me a little bit more about when that courtroom and those jurors and judges heard from knox earlier today, from what i understand, she sort of initially spoke haltingly and then paused and said, okay, and then continued on really with what the crux of her statement was in italian. huge day for her. >> reporter: that's right. that's right, it was. it was perhaps the biggest speech of her life. she's been preaparing for it fo months according to her parents,

deciding exactly what to say to the jury and the judges this morning. in a very emotional speech, pleaded her innocence. said she had lost a friend in meredith kercher and had absolutely nothing to do with her killing. she did it in italian in order to i think cut through to the jury a bit more. that may have endeared had her to them. she certainly spent a lot of time in prison, four years, learning italian much better than she first spoke it in her initial trial. that may have made a difference. the jury all day have been considering that as well as the other evidence against amanda knox and the co-defendant. not least of which the dna evidence, the only physical evidence, used to essentially convict knox and the co-defendant in 2009, independent forensic experts were brought in by this very court to examine that police forensic methodology. they found the evidence to be flawed. if the jury are looking for a reason to set amanda knox free, they may have found it in that

forensic evidence. >> matthew, here's my question, though, with regard to this decision that comes down. from what i understand, you have these two judges, six jurors, right? so eight different people. what if these people come back with a split decision? who's the tie-breaker? >> reporter: the tie-breaker goes to the fence. if it's 4-4, the defense get it's and it's an acquittal. all that's required in this court is a majority decision. so if it's 5-3, that will be the decision that's carried over. but again, a split decision, 4-4, it goes to the defense. that's my understanding of the system here in italy. you know, who knows whose favor that's going to work in at the end of the day. we'll find out in about an hour. >> matthew chance, we will check back in with you then. tremendous day for the kerchers and the knoxes. as we mentioned, amanda knox, really biggest speech of her life. let's listen to it.

"i am innocent." that is amanda knox speaking in fluent italian. we thought it was important for you to hear her in her own words with subtitles on the screen. i you want to bring in legal analyst sunny hostin from new york. sunny, the italian system is very different from ours here. as i mentioned, you have two judges, six jurors, he mentioned the tie-breaker would be the defense. my question to you, let's begin with, how does this process even work? ultimately these eight individuals vote on one of multiple choices with regard to knox's fate, correct? >> that's right. i mean, there are eight altogether, brooke. two are judges, six are laypeople. we have five women and three men. also, they have sort of four options in my view open to them. they could, of course, affirm the original conviction and sentence, which means she would be in prison for another, i

suppose, 22 years. it it was a 26-year sentence. or they could overturn the conviction and find her innocent, acquit her. she would get to go home today, is my understanding. or they could give her a stricter sentence, a har cher sentence. the prosecution is asking for life in prison. or they could give her something lesser, find her guilty of a lesser crime and perhaps keep her in there for a longer time or also give her time served. so there are about four options available to her. i think what we just showed was really extraordinary, brooke, because you don't see that in this system, in the united states. you typically do not see, on appeal, a defendant getting up in front of the court, getting up in front of the people that are deciding her fate, and saying, i wiam innocent, giving her version of events. that typically does not happen here. this has just been an extraordinary case and an extraordinary day i think to come for amanda knox.

>> one more question for you, sunny. i think, to be precise, this is not a verdict as you've explained, this is a decision on appeal with those four different potential choices. jurors and the judges, five women, three men. what do you make of that, majority female? will that help or hurt amanda knox? >> you know, in united states that's something i think that could hurt her or help her because we know that the victim here was a woman, now the defendant is also a woman. so it could go either way in the united states. i wonder if it doesn't help her, though, in italy because she spoke to them as a young woman proclaiming her innocence, which is very different from what she did before when she spoke. she's much more fluent this time. she's much more emphatic about her innocence. so i wonder if it doesn't sort of weigh in her favor to have so many many women deciding her fate. women that are mothers and daughters and sisters, perhaps they'll have some emthipathy fo

her. >> we'll hear that decision in just over an hour. sunny, thank you so much. just to reiterate what she said in court today, "i did not kill, i did not rape, i did not steal." those are the words of amanda knox. but what about the victim's family? what do they want everyone to remember? >> everything she went through, the fear and the terror of and not knowing why. and she didn't deserve that. no one deserves that. >> more of that emotional sound from the family of meredith kercher in just two minutes. plus, incredible new video of the occupy wall street protests. hundreds of people arrested for walking across this bridge. and a little later, you know what today means, music monday. i sit down with the rock legend journey. find out what brought them to tears in my interview, coming up later this hour. and nascar's best helping kids every year.

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they were two young women on this exciting journey, living far from their you families, learning italian and learning life in a foreign country. it should have been the best of times for 21-year-old meredith kercher and 20-year-old amanda knox. but the good times were shattered in a murder. the knox family has been visibly seeking freedom of amanda, we haven't seen as much of meredith kercher's family. but today as they await this decision coming down in just about an hour in perugia on that murder appeal, her family sat down and talked about their beloved meredith. this is meredith's sister stephanie. >> meredith had been hugely

forgotten in all of this. meredith was such a lovely, lovely girl, a great friend to everyone that she knew. she would help everyone out. she would be rushing around to make sure she could get to everyone's birthday or dinner or anything that she needed to had help them with. she was always there for everyone. i think what everyone needs to remember is what mom and i were talking about earlier, the brutality of what actually happened that night and the violence, everything that meredith must have felt that night, everything she went through, the fear and the terror of not knowing why, and she didn't deserve that. no one deserves that. >> the kercher family also spoke about amanda knox's appeal and their faith in the italian justice system. here is meredith kercher's

mother arlene. >> i think you still have to go by the evidence because there is nothing else. i mean, what i want, what they want doesn't come into it. it is what the police have found, what the science has found, what the evidence is. that's all you can go on. >> only those people there that night will ever really know what happened until someone actually comes forward and says, yes, i did it, and this is what happened. >> we need to find out what happened, and it's not really a question of reaching out or, you know, joining them in anything. it is to find out what happened to meredith and to get some justice for her, really. >> the kerchers say it's tough to think about forgiveness for meredith's killers. 700 men and women arrested for blocking a bridge.

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in lower manhattan, loud, sometimes disruptive growing demonstrations begin a third day, the marchers calling themselves occupy wall street. for several hours yesterday, they occupied and blocked the brooklyn bridge, hundreds of people. the movement's exact focus? there really isn't one. the leader calling the shots and directing this protest? really isn't one of those either. i want you to watch this from this weekend's occupy wall street marches there in new york city. >> taking over the roadway. >> take it! >> who speaks? >> wall street!

>> who's rich? wall street! >> you will be arrested for disorderly conduct! >> wall street! >> the whole world's watching! >> let them go! let them go! let them go! >> you're going to arrest a woman! >> shame shame shame!

>> occupy wall street has inspired similar movements in other cities including boston, los angeles, san francisco, even boise. demonstrators are venting their anger on issues ranging from high gas prices to climate change on what many are calling quite simply corporate greed. quick reminder on our breaking news story. we are just about an hour away from this decision by two italian jujz and six jurors in the amanda knox case out of italy. contested dna evidence is really at the heart of amanda knox's appeal, specifically dna prosecutors say was found on this kitchen knife and also on the clasp p of meredith kercher's bra. over the summer, two court-appointed dna experts, forensic experts, took a second look at the evidence and how it was actually handled. and they found that the dna evidence used to convict knox was unreliable, contaminated. greg hampeekian is a dna expert

at boise state university. greg, i know you consulted as we mentioned with the knox family. i y welcome. >> thank you. >> i want to begin with just science itself. you have said multiple times science is everything. >> yeah. >> what do you mean by that? >> well, it was in italian, galileo taught us it's okay to have a gut feeling. you call it a hypothesis. you test it. if it's wrong, you reject it, start over. and the same thing is true in forensic siensz. you can start with a gut feeling, as they did in italy. >> whatever you think happened. >> right. then you look at the scientific evidence and if it disagrees with your gut feeling, like a hypothesis, you reject it. that's what should have been done here early. these young people should have been let go at the very beginning when the dna came back. >> let's go back. it was november of '07. you have the murder scene. there was testing and they got the evidence and you say with regard to those procedures they did a good job.

>> yeah. the day of the murder, there's a video i had to watch, and it's gruesome. there's a body in the room. they're take being samples from the victim, taking samples from the room. more than 100 items collected and tested. they he ddid a great job. everything in that room the day of the murder collected by the italian police, analyzed by d it it -- dna is either the victim or rudy gaday, someone not a suspect in this case. the dna told them he was involved. they should have thrown out that gut feeling about amanda knox and rafael sollecito. >> let me pause for a moment. we're told we're going to put this on a split screen. these are live pictures. there is a little bit of activity just outside of the courthouse. we'll keep our eyes on it that as i have you talking to me about dna evidence. that procedure was all well and good and done up to snuff. >> yes.

>> then, though, it was ultimately the trial and these two key pieces of, what, evidence. >> yes. >> you have the kitchen knife. >> yes. >> and kercher's bra clasp. >> yes. >> and what was found, amanda knox was found on the handle and sollecito, her former boyfriend, was found on the clasp. >> that's right. >> why didn't that stand? >> we're calling it key pieces of evidence. we're saying that because in the appeal we're showing, in fact, the italian experts appointed by the judge have shown those are unreliable pieces of evidence. they were used as the key pieces against amanda and raffaele. >> yes. >> that was the game-changer. hold your thought. got to take a quick break.

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. breaking news here in the amanda knox decision. it will be coming down in just about an hour from now. i want to continue our conversation with greg hampikian, dna expert from boise university, also chief of the

idaho branch of the innocence project, friend of the knoxs, before we continue the conversation we had before the break, you just got a text from amanda knox's stepfather. >> yeah. saying the same thaing we're hearing, that there's movement and time to get into the courtroom. so everybody's on tender hooks. it's up to the jury and the judges at this point. >> six and two. i did want to ask -- we were talking about this earlier and i think our viewers will find this fascinating -- obviously this is happening in perugia, italy -- the knox family they don't speak italian. >> no. >> they're sitting in the courtroom watching essentially the fate of their daughter and not comprehending what's happening. >> no. there are some volunteers who help from time to time trying to translate, but you can imagine what happens in a courtroom if you have someone whispering next to you the whole time. i'm sure the judge wants them to keep that down.

sometimes no one is translating. they try to figure it out. >> how do they do that? >> it's tremendously hard. when you have a foreigner in the courtroom, their family is left out. >> let's go back to the dna evidence. we were talking about the kitchen knife and bra clasclasp. on appeal, it was up to the judge who said, before we continue on, i want to have independent forensic experts take a closer look at these two pieces of evidence. and what did those experts find? >> well, they said everything we had said, that i had said, 2 1/2 years ago in that the defense experts, italian defense experts who said earlier at trial that the dna on the knife is most likely contamination, that it's unreliable, it should not even have been reported, it's below the standard level that we look at. and we set those standards for really good reason. if you look below those levels you'll see contamination. you'll see it in your chemicals in the laboratory. you'll see it that you carry family mayembers' dna to work wh

you. that's one of the reasons why we have to validate what level we look at. the italians start at what we use, our lab, the fbi. on that knife they went lower and lower and lower until they found something. >> if i'm the kercher family and i'm thinking, well, then how did amanda knox's dna get on this knife? and how did raffaele sollecitsos dna get on the bra class. >> right. we touch hands, i touch my tie, i go home and your dna is on my tie. it looks like we're a little closer than we are. that happens. we touched. some of your cells get on my hand. those are loose cells. if rife just washed my hands, maybe my hands have less loose cells so i can transfer dna. that's one of the reasons again we don't look at every single cell of dna in the laboratory we have to validate what level we can look at.

my laboratory we set it even a little lower than the fbi, but pretty much there's international agreement that you don't go below a certain level. they did in this case. >> so beyond no doubt with regard to your forensic expertise that you say she is not connected. >> oh, yeah. there's no physical evidence connecting her. and for raffaele it's this bra clasp that they find 46 days later that's been moved all over the floor. in court -- during the appeal, they show this video where they're handing it from one investigator to another. their gloves are dirty. and we replicated this in my lab just by not changing our gloves every other piece of evidence. we've shown that you do contaminate things. you will transfer from one object to another unless you're changing gloves in between each piece of evidence. >> i have a quick favor to ask you live on tv. would you mind sticking around with me when we get the decision in less than an hour? >> sure. meenlt, speculation

surrounding a potential chris christie presidential bid is increasing. one gop candidate is calling christie too liberal. jim acosta has that and more in your political ticker, next.

goat a get a quick check fresh off the political ticker. jim acosta? >> we were just talking about this a few minutes ago how we are literally three months away from potentially the iowa caucuses. now, iowa republican officials have not said that the caucuses are going to start on january

3rd, but with south carolina moving up to move ahead of florida, that just means that p new hampshire and iowa will probably do the same. so we're getting very close. why will i bringing up all of this, brooke? it's because the pressure is really on chris christie to make this decision this week, and that is really -- all of the indications we're getting out of trnt right now is that the new jersey governor will make this final decision one way or another, yes or no, whether or not he'll run for the white house in 2012. it's because of that compressed timetable we're talking about that there's this great urgency for governor christie to make up his mind. he is already starting to take some abuse from his potential rivals, namely herman cain, who was on one of the sunday talk shows yesterday saying chris christie is simply too liberal to be the gop nominee. >> i believe that a lot of conservatives, once they know his position on those things that you delineated, they're going to not be able to support

him. so i think that that is absolutely a liability for him, if he gets in the race. >> speaking of herman cain, he was in new york earlier today meeting with donald trump. we have some video of that to show you. or perhaps some photographs to show you. and, you know, there's a picture we got up on our political ticker right now showing herman cain and donald trump p. as you know, cain is the former ceo of godfather's pizza and donald trump has become sort of a political godfather inside the gop party. you could call the caption the two gods fathers if you don't mind me saying. >> i heard herman cain has a way of jazzing up a famous and iconic presidential tune. we have that with joe johns in political pop. we'll have fun with that one. >> i heard he wants to make it fresher, i believe the word he used, more fresh. >> i think more fresh. we'll get more specific coming up. >> i won't step on joe, but yes.

>> jim, thank you very much. speaking of music, you've all heard this song, right? the woman behind the song "rapper's delight," she has passed away. we wanted to pay special tribute on this music monday to her. plus, they laughed, cried with me sitting in this interview room backstage. but what does journey think of shows using their movie? i sit down with these guys in two minutes. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy.

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p. all right, "rapper's delight" produced in 1979 by a

woman named sylvia robinson. the 76-year-old passed away last week of congestive heart failure so we just wanted to give her a little music monday love on this afternoon. speaking of, if you haven't watched us, we've moved up an hour here so maybe you don't realize this is music monday for our viewers. today's music monday is part throws back and part current pop. even though journey does have a new front man, close your eyes, just close them, while you listen to this. you may never notice the difference. watch. ♪ for someone who's never rocked out on a stage, what does that mean? >> it mean it's loud. really loud. ♪ some day love will find you break those chains that bind you ♪ >> it's rock with melody, with the heart and soul. >> we play a little bit of this,

that, it's a diversified band. >> sopranos, rock of ages, what does all of that mean to you, that they've taken your music and done what they have? what does it mean to you? >> well, it's approval. it's a massive amount of approval. it just feels great. >> did you even know what "glee" was at the time? >> i didn't, no. >> my kids told me. >> what did they say? >> my teenage girls said, dad, this is the biggest thing that will will happen for journey. you won't believe how big this is. all of our friend are talking about it. they're going to download this song. you wait and see. they kind of got me ready for it. so they turned on the tv and we watched it together and it was amazing. >> all a sudden the younger fans started coming, listening to our actual records after listening to the "glee" records. >> younger people who did not

necessarily grow up with it have discovered it with the advent of "don't stop believing" becoming so popular. it's become an anthem. ♪ just a small town girl >> how -- guys, how did that even begin, that findi ining ar? >> i searched on youtube because i just didn't want -- i knew we needed to get a lead vocalist in the band and i didn't want to go through the old process of auditi auditioning. >> so i just went to youtube because i know what's on there is real. you know, there's no doctoring it. if you hear talent in somebody, it's going to stand out to you. ♪ so now i come to you with open arms ♪

but when i heard our songs, i contacted john and i said, check this out. he did "open arms" and "faithfully." i was just, like, whoa, this is incredible that he sounds this good. ♪ open arms >> i was living in the street for, like, more than a year, like when i was 15. sometimes begging for food, sometimes you have to sleep in small chair, you know, for overnight. so it was -- those things, well, i got through it because i -- i kept my faith, i kept my belief, and i always put in my heart who my mom told me, always fight, fight, fight, believe, and move on. never look back because it's

just going to stall you. you know, just move on. i went on, and then i met these guys. i'm here. >> who else should be singing "don't stop believing"? right? >> i see teary eyes in you. i see it in you. what is -- you. >> he makes us a better camcamp his energy, where he's been. >> so don't stop believing. >> every night it means something. ♪ don't stop believing ♪ hold on to that feeling >> it's a brotherhood. that's what i love about this band. it's a brotherhood. it's not a bunch of guys just making a living, going out doing what we have to do. that's what we bring in every night. we live and feed off it. we love what we do, but it's fun. ♪ it goes on and on and on and

on ♪ ♪ strangers ♪ >> back to "don't stop believing "oishgs tell me the back-story on the song. >> well, i had the chorus but i didn't have anything else. i said, i don't know what the rest of the song is. so steve said, well, let's think about a chorus. so he made me play this piano thing with the same chords but without the bass note. then neil came up with the bass line. so it was this big improv that happened one afternoon. truly it's why you want to be in a band because everybody brought something that afternoon to my little idea, you know? and i watch my little idea turn into our little idea and then became a bigger idea, you know, when we wrote the lyrics and

actually recorded it. and neil looked over at me one time, we finished, we're listening to it, he says, i think it's pretty catchy, this could be a hit. ♪ don't stop believing ♪ hold onto that feeling ♪ street lights ♪ >> awesome! >> thank you so much. journey. how about that? thanks for sitting down with me as long as you did. by the way, you can always watch all of our monday music interviews, cnn.com/brooke. tell me what you lovement i want to know what you're listening to and who you think should appear. next week perhaps. coming up, a decision is expected in just about 30 minutes in the appeal of amanda knox's murder conviction. we have just seen her parents walk back to court moments ago. will the 24-year-old be set

free? we'll take you live to italy for coverage of that decision about to be read here. also, an extreme kayak feat captured on camera. we'll talk to the man who shot this incredible video of this kayaker making nearly a 100-foot drop over this fall. ♪ in here, anarchy meets order. working with at&t, doctors set up a broadband solution to handle data and a mobility app to stay connected with their business. so they can run the office... even when they're not in the office. it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. call at&t and see what we can do for your business. helping you do what you do... even better.

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case. the appeal there in perugia, italy. but moving along, it looks like the end of the world. that's what a professional kayaker told cnn affiliate ktau after taking this death-defying 100-foot drop over the edge of this waterfall. i tell you what it gave me butterflies just to watch it. check it out for yourself. >> yeah. that live shot kind of puts it in perspective. this is in oregon, in the willamette valley.

this is 40-year-old jesse coombs. he took on this daring stunt only a handful of others have ever tried before him. the drop only took about three seconds, but he says it was a grueling three seconds. coombs didn't come out entirely unscathed, though. he did suffer a punctured lung and fractured shoulder joinlt. i want to bring in the photographer who captured these amazing images. he's on the phone with me from jackson hole, wyoming. we'll talk photography in a second, lucas. but i have to ask, i'm assuming you're buddies with jesss se, seemed like a perfectly fine waterfall just to look at. why did he need to do that? >> well, thanks, brooke. that's as a good question. you hate to lose a friend over something like this. but jesse has continued to push the sport and push his own personal goals, and it was just an amazing feat. >> lucas, i know you didn't go over this fall with jesse, but from what i understand you put some of those cameras in some pretty precarious places.

can you tell me where and how you did that. >> yeah. i bushchak wh whacked around th. sort of like real estate, location location. these spots are not particularly easy, whether you're in a canyon or bushwhacking through a jungle, you basically need the optimum spot and put yourself in the best possible position for success. you have to inkrinz ickly have to trust your gear. there's no take two, no re-do. using the best possible gear like nikon cameras and other gear -- >> you can't ask this guy to go over the waterfall more than one time. extreme kayaking today, how do you top this? what's tomorrow? >> you're going to have to tune back in for round two. there's something in brazil that nobody's ever seen before that's pretty special. you'll have to give me a call. >> all right, lucas gilman, we'll do so. >>